


Notes on the Festivals of Thedas

by iodhadh



Series: Notes on Thedas [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Book: The World of Thedas, Celtic Calendar, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, Seasonal Festivals, Thedas (Dragon Age), Thedas Calendar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 04:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19099543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iodhadh/pseuds/iodhadh
Summary: Being an in-depth discussion of the seasonal festival calendar of Thedas and suggestions for the celebrations thereof.





	Notes on the Festivals of Thedas

**Author's Note:**

> Meta from a year and a half ago, crossposted and slightly cleaned up from tumblr. I had intended to post it here, but for whatever reason it slipped my mind. Enjoy!

Alright, folks. A friend wanted me to write this meta, and promised me festival illustrations if I did, and since I am easily manipulated—and also, unreasonably and eternally irritated about Satinalia being portrayed as Basically Thedosian Christmas—here I am to talk about seasonal festivals. Buckle in, this is gonna be a long one.

### A Primer on the Thedosian Calendar

But first, let’s backtrack and cover the basics of the calendar. Extracanonical material in World of Thedas tells us that the year in Thedas consists of twelve thirty-day months, plus an additional five festival days, or annums, which fall outside the month structure (which means, if anyone was wondering, that Thedas’s years are 365 days, just like a standard earth year). The months have both an older Tevene name, used in Tevinter and some other places (likely depending on proximity to the Imperium and social class of the speaker), and a common Trade name used most everywhere else.

I’ve written out the order of the year, comprising both months and annums in their proper place. The Tevene is listed first, then the Trade name, with the real world equivalent in brackets.

  * **Annum:** First Day
  * _Month:_ Verimensis / Wintermarch (January)
  * **Annum:** Wintersend
  * _Month:_ Pluitanis / Guardian (February)
  * _Month:_ Nubulis / Drakonis (March)
  * _Month:_ Eluviesta / Cloudreach (April)
  * **Annum:** Summerday
  * _Month:_ Molioris / Bloomingtide (May)
  * _Month:_ Ferventis / Justinian (June)
  * _Month:_ Solis / Solace (July)
  * **Annum:** All Soul’s Day
  * _Month:_ Matrinalis / August (August)
  * _Month:_ Parvulis / Kingsway (September)
  * _Month:_ Frumentum / Harvestmere (October)
  * **Annum:** Satinalia
  * _Month:_ Umbralis / Firstfall (November)
  * _Month:_ Cassus / Haring (December)



Now, here’s the thing: to most Western eyes, this looks odd. First Day being at the beginning of January makes sense to us, but by the calendar in common use in North America and most of Europe, it doesn’t make any sense to place Wintersend (the end of winter, and thus beginning of spring) at the start of February—and that placement throws the rest of the seasonal beginnings off too. Based on that, I’ve seen people make the case that the months of Thedas are actually off by one or two from ours—that Guardian is not February but April, and correspondingly that Summerday is just before July, All Soul’s Day before October, and Satinalia before January.

If that’s what someone wants to use for their fic or art, they’re welcome to it, of course: the very beauty of fandom is that we’ve all got our own interpretations. But I’d like to present an alternate theory, one that I believe is both simpler and far more likely. You see, there _is_ a calendar in the world which matches up near-perfectly with the calendar of Thedas, not only in terms of the seasonal division but also, in many ways, in terms of the themes of the festivals: the Insular Celtic calendar, which still survives today in the modern Irish seasonal calendar.

> #### A Sidebar on the Irish Calendar
> 
> So why does the Irish calendar start summer at the beginning of May? It has to do with an astronomical, rather than meteorological, understanding of the seasons. The modern Western calendar dates the beginning of summer as June 21st, the summer solstice—but the summer solstice is also known as _midsummer_.
> 
> The idea is that, as the longest day of the year, it must be the high point of the summer season. Therefore, the beginning of summer is a month and a half before, falling in early May. Standardization with the months of the Julian calendar led to the date being set on May 1st, which is slightly more than halfway ahead of the solstice, but according to the Irish calendar, midsummer is still the approximate midpoint of the season. The fact that it’s not really “summer weather” yet at the beginning of May isn’t important. It’s timekeeping by the stars.
> 
> (As for why the middle of summer, the day of longest light, isn’t also the high point of summer’s heat: the short answer is that it takes a while for things to warm up. It’s the same reason large bodies of water are still pretty chilly at the beginning of the warm season. The exact details are well beyond the scope of this article, but you can check out [this column](https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/when-does-spring-really-start-1299726-Feb2014/) by an Irish astronomer for a more scientific explanation.)

### Using the Calendar

Considering how much of the early worldbuilding of Thedas—specifically Ferelden—clearly draws on Celtic mythology, folklore, and culture, it’s not surprising that they would also have taken inspiration for the calendar (if you weren’t aware that a significant amount of Ferelden’s basis is in historical Celtic societies—just trust me on this one, it’s a lot). But what can the Insular Celtic calendar tell you about how the people of Thedas celebrate their festivals?

In the following sections, I lay out what we know about the Thedosian seasonal festivals, followed by an overview of the real-world seasonal festivals that match their places in the year (of note: I’m using the Irish names, since those are the ones I’m most familiar with, but many other Celtic countries also have similar festivals at the same points in time). Then, I provide a bit of an analysis and explain some of the implications the real festivals have for Thedas’s festivals.

Finally, I provide some inspirational jumping-off points for seasonal fanworks, based on traditions associated with the real-world festivals. These are, of course, only suggestions, and are by no means a definitive list of ways people might celebrate the seasons. But I thought it would be nice to give people a bit of cultural context for seasonal festivals that wouldn’t necessarily be familiar to the majority of Dragon Age’s audience. Mix and match whatever works for you.

### Wintersend and Imbolc

> _Once called “Urthalis” and dedicated to Urthemiel, the Old God of Beauty, this holiday has now become a celebration of the Maker. It stands for the end of winter in many lands and coincides with tourneys and contests at the Proving Grounds in Minrathous. In southern lands, this holiday has become a day of gathering for trade, theater, and, in some areas, the arrangement of marriages. It is celebrated at the beginning of Pluitanis._
> 
> — Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1

Wintersend takes place at the same time as the festival of Imbolc. Imbolc is associated with the pre-Christian goddess Brigid, whose blessings are sought on the household and livestock. The festival is centred around the hearth and home, and it is also a celebration of the lengthening days. Families often hold a special meal, and the festival is also associated with the beginning of lambing season.

On first brush, this doesn’t appear to resemble the description of Wintersend very much, aside from the celebration of lengthening days. But several of the common traditions associated with Brigid at Imbolc relate to young people (often girls, but sometimes everyone) parading house to house with a representation of the goddess in order to bring blessings to everyone. It’s a time of coming together, of shared joy and communal feasting. It’s not far to step from there to trade, theatre, marriages, even games and tournaments.

It’s also important to consider the differences in how a festival might be celebrated by city dwellers versus country folk. Theatre and tournaments are more the province of larger cities; in rural areas, the coming of spring has more practical concerns—and historically speaking, seasonal festivals are almost inherently associated with agriculture and agrarian societies. Sheep certainly exist in Thedas, and there’s no reason to believe the lambing season wouldn’t be happening around Wintersend. And if you’re counting spring based on animals, rather than planting, that’s exactly when spring would begin.

There is also what looks like a sort of shuffling-around of some of the influences in some of the festivals’ worldbuilding—but I’ll discuss that in more detail later.

#### Suggestions for seasonal celebrations:

  * Spring cleaning in preparation for seasonal blessings.
  * The lighting of candles and/or relighting the hearth fire, representing light coming back to the world.
  * A communal feast, traditionally using ingredients that would remain from the winter stores.
  * A gathering of the rural people at the nearest village for the celebrations (this can also serve as the canonical gathering for trade, theatre, and marriage arrangements).
  * Weather divination involving plants or animals.
  * Laying clothing or old fabric outside overnight to be blessed.
  * Symbolically inviting a representative of spring into the household, potentially including making up an extra bed or laying an extra place at the table.
  * A young women’s feast which the young men have to beg entrance to, followed by dancing and games (this could be combined with the canonical arranging of marriages).
  * Parading around a representative of spring (either a person or a doll/effigy) in order to banish the spirits of winter and bring good fortune.



### Summerday and Bealtaine

> _Once called “Andoralis” and dedicated to Andoral, the Old God of Unity, this holiday is universally celebrated as the beginning of summer, a time for joy and, commonly, marriage. Boys and girls ready to come of age don white tunics and gowns. They then join a grand procession that crosses the settlement to the local Chantry, where they are taught the responsibilities of adulthood. Summerday is a particularly holy occasion in Orlais. It is celebrated at the beginning of Molioris._
> 
> — Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1

Summerday in Thedas corresponds with the festival of Bealtaine. Bealtaine represents the beginning of the summer season, when cattle can be driven out to summer pastures, and involves rituals for the protection of livestock and crops and to encourage fertility of the land. It is often referred to as a fire festival, as fire is extremely significant to many of the rituals. There is also the symbolic usage of flowers. It is considered one of the days of the year when faeries are most active, and many of the rituals revolve around appeasing them or protecting oneself from them.

The association of Bealtaine with land fertility has given it popular associations with sexual fertility as well, which fits well with Summerday’s themes of unity and marriage (and, if we’re being tongue-in-cheek, learning the responsibilities of adulthood). White is often associated with purity as well as with light; to have young people donning white on the first day of summer before graduating into adulthood fits right in with Bealtaine imagery and symbolism. And Bealtaine also often involves processions through or around the settlement as part of its rituals of blessing.

In the seasonal calendar, this is the time to celebrate the end of the spring planting and the beginning of the summer growing season, which makes it something of an ideal point to stop and throw a party. It’s also, as previously mentioned, when cattle can be taken out to pasture, which once again would apply just as much in Thedas as here.

#### Suggestions for seasonal celebrations:

  * Bonfires. Just lots of bonfires, everywhere. These are both a representation of summer light and heat, and a purifying and blessing force (something which fits quite well into Chantry teachings).
  * Producing fires with specific sacred methods, such as by rubbing wood together to produce a “need-fire” or a “force-fire.”
  * A procession of torches, lit from a communal bonfire, around farmland or pasture, and their use in relighting the hearth fire.
  * Building two bonfires with a walkway space between them and driving livestock between the fires to bless them.
  * Leaping over bonfires either individually or as a couple (to bless a partnership).
  * Divination to discover one’s future spouse.
  * Decorating households, livestock, and tools with flower garlands, particularly yellow flowers.
  * Making bouquets and floral crowns.
  * Decorating a communal bush with flowers, ribbons, shells, and other items and/or competitions for who can have the best-decorated bush (possibly involving acts of sabotage or theft).



### All Soul’s Day and Lughnasadh

> _Once called “Funalis” and dedicated to Dumat, the Old God of Silence. However, since Dumat’s rise during the First Blight, Thedosians turn a blind eye to any old ties between the day and the dragon. The holiday is now known across Thedas as All Soul’s Day and spent in somber remembrance of the dead. In some northern lands, the people dress as spirits and walk the streets in parade after midnight. The Chantry uses the holiday to remember the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death. It is celebrated at the beginning of Matrinalis._
> 
> — Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1

All Soul’s Day takes place at the same time as the festival of Lughnasadh. In mythology, Lughnasadh was established by the pre-Christian god Lugh as funeral games in honour of his foster mother Tailtiu, who may have been an earth or harvest goddess. It involves feasting, athletics competitions, performances, gathering for trade and settling legal disputes, and matchmaking. There is a tradition of climbing to high places, sometimes wearing flowers which are buried at the top of the hill. It also represents the end of the summer and the beginning of the harvest season.

If you’re thinking that this sounds familiar, you are absolutely right: the Dragon Age developers appear to have taken inspiration from Lughnasadh as part of their worldbuilding for Wintersend. This is part of what I was referring to with the shuffling around of seasonal inspirations (and it’s also worth noting that in the southern hemisphere, the end of summer festival would be held at the beginning of February rather than August).

However, that’s not to say _all_ of the Lughnasadh influences were transplanted to Wintersend. It’s important to remember that Lughnasadh was established as a funeral feast, commemorating the death of a powerful life-giving goddess. Some of the plays focus on her life, just as All Soul’s Day involves performances about Andraste. And many of the traditional Lughnasadh rituals, such as the burial of flower wreaths, involve the symbolic death of summer.

Other aspects of All Soul’s Day appear to be borrowed from the fourth seasonal festival, Samhain, but I’ll explain that in the next section.

#### Suggestions for seasonal celebrations:

  * Performances in honour of the deaths of significant local people or members of the community.
  * Harvest-related performances involving a hero who defeats a representation of blight (which could be both the natural blight of crops and the darkspawn Blight).
  * A feast gathering in honour of the dead, possibly dumb feast—that is, a feast where the diners do not speak for the lengths of the meal.
  * A procession to a high place involving the burial of flowers, symbolizing the death of summer (or, alternatively, the burial of the first part of the summer harvest).
  * Summer flowers being thrown into bonfires.
  * Funeral celebrations for a representation of summer, according to local custom.
  * The ritual sacrifice of livestock, which could serve as the centrepiece for a “funeral” feast.
  * Gathering the first fruits of the summer harvest for a feast.
  * Offerings made to the dead, which could be the first part of the summer harvest or a special treat made from traditional local ingredients.



### Satinalia and Samhain

> _Once dedicated to the Old God of Chaos, Zazikel—but now attributed more to the second moon, Satina—this holiday is accompanied by wild celebration, the wearing of masks, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. In Antiva, Satinalia lasts for a week or more, while a week of fasting follows. In more pious areas, large feasts and the giving of gifts mark the holiday. Satinalia is celebrated at the beginning of Umbralis._
> 
> — Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1

Satinalia corresponds with the festival of Samhain. Samhain is generally regarded as the most significant of the Irish seasonal festivals, and like Bealtaine is often referred to as a fire festival. It’s a time of increased activity from faeries, as well as the day the souls of the dead can most easily visit the world, and offerings are made to the dead. There are a number of stories of otherworldly monsters or enemies, and many other significant events in mythology happen on that day.

Celebrations include gatherings, feasts, storytelling, competitions, and drinking, and the parties can last as long as a week. There are traditions of dressing in costume, performances from folk tales, and going house to house in disguises begging for sweets. It’s a liminal, chaotic time, and part of dressing up is intended to confuse (or imitate) faeries and evil spirits. It is also traditionally when cattle are brought down to the winter pastures, supplies are tallied for the winter, and livestock is slaughtered. Blessing rituals involving fire (similar to some of the Bealtaine traditions) are also carried out at Samhain.

Scrub off some of the real-world specifics and shift most of the death-related stuff over to All Soul’s Day, and the description of Samhain could very well be written for Satinalia. I mentioned earlier that seeing the festival treated like a Christmas equivalent irritates me (to what I am fully willing to admit is an unreasonable amount), and this is why. Aside from gift-giving, which is a common element of many festivals, it has virtually nothing in common with the themes or typical celebrations of Christmas.

To put a more familiar cultural spin on it than Samhain: rather than Thedosian Christmas, Satinalia is Thedosian _Hallowe’en_ , with a sprinkling of Thedosian Mardi Gras (which, honestly, has a lot of similarities to Samhain and Hallowe’en already). Embrace it. Appreciate it. Give me wild Satinalia masquerades where everyone is in costume. There are _so many amazing possibilities here_.

#### Suggestions for seasonal celebrations:

  * Feasts using all the best (and most perishable) supplies from the now-finished fall harvest.
  * Sweets, cakes, and sugars everywhere (what can’t be preserved over the winter will need to be used up).
  * Costumes, masquing, mummer’s plays, guising, people dressing up as spirits in order to confuse demons and keep evil spirits from targeting them.
  * A tradition of storytelling, particularly storytelling contests.
  * Songs, dances, and other forms of joyful public revelry.
  * Bonfires and bonfire celebrations, intended to hold back the long dark for just one more night before winter officially begins.
  * Two bonfires which livestock can be driven between in blessing (similar to the Bealtaine custom).
  * Relighting the hearth fires from a shared bonfire, carried home in a torchlit processional.
  * Divination focused on the future or the coming year, particularly revolving around deaths and marriages.
  * Children’s games which have an element of divination, such as bobbing for apples or tossing apple peels and divining the shape they land in.
  * Setting an extra place or places for the year’s dead at the feasting table.
  * Pranks, often carried out in disguises (in imitation of evil spirits).
  * Guisers going door-to-door begging or trading songs and stories for sweets or food.
  * Carving root vegetables or gourds into lanterns for use by guisers.
  * Portions of the crops left out in the fields as an offering to the dead or spirits.
  * Animal sacrifice as part of the yearly livestock slaughtering, served up as a major component of feasts or communal meals.



### Where Does First Day Fit?

> _The traditional start of the year, this holiday involves visits to neighbors and family (in remote areas, this was once an annual check to ensure everyone was alive), as well as a town gathering to commemorate the year past, accompanied by drinking and merriment._
> 
> — Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1

Astute readers will have noticed that, in discussion of the seasonal festivals of the Irish calendar, I’ve made no mention of an equivalent of First Day. That’s because there isn’t one! Instead First Day is pretty obviously based on our own existing celebration of New Year’s Day, which derives from the Gregorian calendar. In a similar vein, it’s possible that First Day was established by the Chantry, since it’s not a seasonal festival and it makes no mention of the Tevinter Old Gods, but this can only be conjecture.

Regardless of its origin, First Day is also undoubtedly the closest thing Thedas has to a Christmas-like or Yule-like holiday, despite its lack of gift-giving traditions. For one thing, unlike Satinalia, it actually takes place during the winter; for another, it involves themes of togetherness, community gathering, and making a bright spot in what is otherwise close to the darkest part of the year. For that reason, I won’t bother to make any suggestions of festival celebrations: most people have a pretty solid idea of the traditions common to midwinter holidays, and the New Year is possibly the most widely celebrated holiday in the world. I doubt anyone needs my help there.

Of course, traditions will vary across Thedas—just as they do for the other holidays. But hopefully this has been an informative, interesting, and inspiring read for those who are looking to make something more out of their holiday-related fanworks. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
